Attachment for wooden railway-ties.



0.,H. BENNETT. ATTACHMENT FOR WOODEN RAILWAY TIES. ABPLIQATIOH FILED JUNE 10, .1908. v

I Patented May 25,.1909Q 6 Fl Hr e? 7 A 208 1? A TTORNE Y8 1 I No. 923,004..

To alli whom it may concern:

ATE%

PATENT FFIQE.

CHARLES HENRY BENNETT, OF OORNING, NEW YORK.

ATTACHMENT FOR WOODEN RAILWAY-TIES.

Beuit known that I, CHARLES HENRY,

' BENNETT, a citizen of the United States, and

a resident of Corning, in the county of Steuben and State of New York, have invented a newand Improved Attachment for Vi ooden Railway-Ties, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to railway ties, my more particular purpose being to provide a type of covering therefor, serving the joint purpose of protecting the tiefrom the effects of 'n1oisture, insuring uniformity of distance between the'rails and enabling the cover ngand also tllGItllS to be secured vfirmly'infposition relatively to the ties.

Reference is tojbe had to the accompanyling drawings formingfapart of this specificat1on, n which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective showing my improved attachment as applied to the top of a cross-tie used in railway service and showing further a portion of a rail secured to the attachment and to the tie; Fig. 2 is a central section along the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the attachment consisting of a metallic sheet having integral with it rail plates and overhanging lugs, the view further showing how a spike driven through a thickened portion,

' as hereinafter described, holds the railrigid in I relation to a lug andto the tie; Fig. 3 is an inverted plan or bottomview, showing the attachment before its application to the tie and showing particularly the projections integral with the attachment for securing it rigidly in relation to the tie; Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in perspective and partly in section on the line 4 of Fig. 1, showing the arrangement of the pits and their bottoms of thin metal tobe ruptured by the spikes;and Fig. 5 is a perspective showing another, form of the attachment, which in this instance comprises two sheets, one overlapping'the other, each sheet being provided with a rail plate and a lug integral with such rail plate and partially overhanging the same,-the rail plate being provided with pits which, upon the, application of spikes, areyformed into holes for securing the rail plates inposition upon the tie.

The tie is shown at 6 and may be of the usual form. A sheet '7 of metal, preferably iron, is provided adjacent to its ends with rail plates 8 and is further provided at its 7 Specification of Letters Patent.

" Application filed June 10,

Patented May 25, 1909. 1908. Serial No. 437,652.

sides with portions 9 integral with it and extending obliquely downward in opposite directions. Integral with these portions are end portions 9, also projecting obliquely downward oppositely to each other, as will be understood from Fig. 2.

Each rail plate is provided with pits 10, having thin bottoms 11, the latter being integral with the rail plate and soft enough to be punched out by the action of a spike, as shown at 11 in Fig. 2, and as hereinafter described. Integral with the rail plates 8 are lugs 12, having overhangs 13. The under side of the rail plate 8 is provided with projections 14, each having the form of an inverted cone-frustum and serving to some extent the purpose of a spike, as will be understood from Fig. 2. .lhere are two of these projections 14, one adjacent to each end of the plate, and a threaded projection 15 of the same kind is disposed intermediate the projections 14 and a little nearer the center of the sheet, as will be seen from Fig. 3.

In order to mount the attachment in position it is laid upon the tie 6 and forced downwardly, preferably by the action of wooden mauls, so that the projections 14, 15 bite into the tie. If desired, holes may first be bored into the tie to accommodate the projections 14,15. Spikes 22 are nextplaced into the pits 10 and driven downwardly, so as to rupture the thin bottoms 11 and cause the same to cup downwardly, forming a water-tight fit around the spikes, one of which is shown at the left in Fig. 2. The spike not only tends to hold the rail plate upon the tie, but also to hold the rail upon the rail plate, and serves as a mate for the overhang 13. The rail plate 8 occupies such a position as to confer upon the sheet a maximum of strength, being located directly under the rail and adjacent to the lug 12, which, of course, should be strong, and also adjacent to the spike 22, upon which there is necessarily considerable strain, both when the spike is being driven and afterward when the rail is in active use.

The rail bottom is shown at 21 and is held in position by the joint action of the spike 22 and the overhang 13 of the lug 12. The cupped edges 11", formed out of the bottom 11 of the )it 10, have more or less spring action and ear firmly in all directions toward the spike, thereby securing a lit in such a manner as to render the device as nearly as practicable waterproof.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the attachment comprises two sheets 16, 17, the sheet 16 partially overlapping the sheet 17 and both sheets being provided with downwardly turned edges 16, 16 integral with them. The sheets are each provided with a rail plate 18 and with pits 19, corresponding to the rail plates 8 and pits 10 above described. The two sheets are also provided each with a lug 20, corresponding to the lug 12. Except for the overlapping of the plates 16, 17, the structure shown in Fig. 5 is substantially identical with that shown in the other figures.

My purpose in providing the two sheets shown in Fig. 5, is to render the operation of the attachment at one end of the tie somewhat independent of the operation at the other end, and also to permit changing the gage of the railroad afterward, should this be necessary. This construction also enables me to use only a part of the attachment, as, for instance, upon a curve, should such be desirable. It also facilitates the interchange and replacement of broken parts.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a member of metal provided with edges turned downwardly and further provided with a lug, said member having a thin portion for enabling a spike to be driven through it, in order to connect said member with a tie.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a metallic member provided with a pit having a bottom of thin metal and adapted to be ruptured by driving a spike thereinto for the purpose of holding said metallic member upon a tie.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a metallic sheet provided with edges projecting downwardly, said sheet being further provided with a pit having a bottom of thin metal and adapted to be ruptured by driving a spike thereinto.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a sheet of metal provided with a thickened portion integral with it, for receiving the under surface of a rail, and fur ther provided with a pit having a bottom of thin metal adapted to be ruptured by a spike.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a pair of plates, one overla ping the other, each plate having a thickene portion serving as a rail seat, and also having a lug integral with said thickened portion and strengthened thereby, said lug overhanging said thickened portion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES HENRY BENNETT.

Witnesses JOHN T. HALL, GERTRUDE GIBsoN. 

